These corporations broke their pledge to stop donating to Republican objectors
Popular Information also has a plan to comprehensively monitor corporate PAC activity in the months and years ahead. Today’s edition demonstrates why this work is so essential. But Popular Information is a two-person newsletter, and this is a massive undertaking. It will involve tens of thousands of campaign finance records from dozens of federal and state databases. You can help Popular Information expand its capacity so we can do this work with a paid subscription. To stay completely independent, Popular Information accepts no advertising. This newsletter only exists because of the support of readers like you. New FEC filings reveal that several major corporations that pledged in January to stop financially supporting members of Congress who tried to overturn the presidential election results broke their pledge in February. In early January, shortly after false claims of voter fraud inspired a violent attack on the United States Capitol, Intel announced that it would stop PAC contributions to members of Congress that voted against certifying the Electoral College results. Intel said that vote, which attempted to overturn the results of a fair election, was not consistent with "our company's values."
But on February 26, Intel sent a $15,000 PAC contribution to the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC). The NRCC is the main fundraising vehicle for the Republican caucus of the House of Representatives. Two-thirds of House Republicans, including Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), voted against certifying the Electoral College on January 6. Intel pledged to stop financial supporting members that voted against certification and then, the following month, donated to the NRCC. Popular Information asked Intel how its February donation to the NRCC was consistent with its January pledge to stop supporting Republican objectors. A spokesperson provided the following response:
Intel's response tacitly acknowledges that it is indirectly backing Republican objectors that it pledged not to support. On January 11, AT&T issued a statement announcing that its PAC would stop contributing to members of Congress that objected to the Electoral College:
Thirty-five days later, on February 22, AT&T's PAC donated $5,000 to the House Conservatives Fund. The House Conservatives Fund is the Leadership PAC of Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA), who voted against certifying the Electoral College on January 6. In a tweet that day, Johnson said he was helping to lead the effort to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election. We MUST fight for election integrity, the Constitution, and the preservation of our republic! It will be my honor to help lead that fight in the Congress today.
The statement I drafted summarizes our position and the legal analysis that supports it.
Johnson also signed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to invalidate millions of votes in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Johnson was supporting a case filed by the State of Texas, which urged the courts to discard the votes so that Republican legislators could directly appoint pro-Trump electors. It also serves as the primary vehicle for the Republican Study Committee (RSC). The overwhelming majority of members of the RSC voted to overturn the election results on January 6. The RSC has pushed false claims that the 2020 election was rife with fraud. Although paperwork has not yet been filed with the FEC, Johnson is expected to be replaced as the chair of the House Conservatives Fund and the RSC by Congressman Jim Banks (R-IN). Banks also objected to the certification of the 2020 presidential election on January 6. Popular Information asked AT&T how its February donation to the House Conservatives Fund was consistent with its January pledge to stop supporting Republican objectors. A company spokesperson provided the following response:
Nevertheless, AT&T is supporting an organization run by a Republican objector and that will spend most of its money securing reelection for Republican objectors. Since money is fungible, the assurances of the House Conservative fund will have little practical effect. On January 13, Cigna issued a statement saying it would "discontinue support" of any member of Congress that "hindered a peaceful transition of power."
Less than a month later, on February 4, Cigna's PAC donated $15,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). The NRSC is run by Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), who objected to the certification of the Electoral College on January 6. Scott personally advanced the false narrative that the 2020 presidential election was subject to significant fraud. This election has shown we need major reforms to our election systems, including Voter ID laws across the nation, to protect against fraud and rebuild the American people’s trust in fair outcomes.
Read more about my VOTER Act here: The funds Cigna donated to Scott's NRSC will benefit the other Senate Republicans who voted against certifying the electoral college, including Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), who is up for reelection in 2022. Cigna also donated $15,000 to the NRCC on February 26. Popular Information asked Cigna how its February donations to the NRCC and NRSC are consistent with its January pledge to stop supporting Republican objectors. "In January, our PAC discontinued support of any elected official that encouraged or supported violence on January 6th, and that remains true," a company spokesperson said. Notably, Cigna statement does not mention that it also pledged to discontinue support for elected officials that "hindered a peaceful transition of power." The curious case of PNC BankOn January 12, PNC Bank issued a strong statement condemning the members of Congress who objected to certification of the Electoral College, pledging to cut off financial support.
There is no indication that PNC itself violated that pledge. But it may be exploiting a loophole. In November, PNC acquired another large bank, BBVA USA Bancshares. The transaction will not formally close until later this year. Unlike PNC, BBVA's PAC did not issue a statement regarding the members of Congress who voted against certifying the Electoral College. Despite the fact that BBVA will only exist for a few more weeks as an independent entity, its PAC has been quite active. In February, BBVA's PAC donated $15,000 each to the NRSC and the NRCC. Popular Information asked PNC if it had any involvement in the operation of BBVA's PAC, in light of the imminent closing of the acquisition. PNC did not respond. Dell resists pressureThere is an ongoing campaign by lobbyists and Congressional staff to pressure corporations to resume donating to Republican members that voted to overturn the election results. Fundraisers "have reached out to corporations, encouraging them to remove their restrictions and resume contributing," CNBC reports. The effort includes "people and groups with ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell." Dell is publicly resisting these tactics:
Most companies are not commenting publicly, but FEC filings indicate they have not resumed donating to members of Congress that objected to the certification of the Electoral College. Popular Information identified 63 companies that pledged to suspend giving to Republican objectors. Thus far, only three of these companies have donated to committees affiliated with the objectors, according to FEC records. It has only been a few weeks, however, since the pledges were issued. And only a small fraction of political donations have been subject to disclosure in 2021. Corporate PACs can elect to file just twice per year in 2021. That means they won't have to file their first report until July. There will be a more complete initial picture in April, when every Congressional candidate will have to make their first quarterly report of 2021. |
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The enemies list
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Following a January 10 report in Popular Information dozens of major companies suspended donations to the 147 Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn the results of the election.
Popular Information in Space
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
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